Students' recognition of the common procedural mistakes in the chemistry laboratory was examined in this study. Data were collected from 49 undergraduates studying Science Teaching. A video in which a student is purposefully making common procedural mistakes was shown to the students, and they were asked to recognize the mistakes. A Written…

Scanning probe-based microscopes (SPMs) are widely used in biology, chemistry, materials science, and physics to image and manipulate matter on the nanoscale. Unfortunately, high school and university departments lack expensive SPM tools and materials microscopy activities to educate a large number of students in this vital SPM imaging technique.…

The Clemmensen reduction is a common example of a reaction demonstrating the deoxygenation of carbonyl groups, which is a topic that has been widely studied in the field of organic chemistry. The use of trimethylchlorosilane, as a substitute for concentrated hydrochloric acid, allows for the reduction of carbonyl groups. The Clemmensen reduction…

Acknowledgement of the limited learning outcomes in our first-year physics lab course, strikingly similar to the observed and reported issues in literature, incited renewal of the course with a focus on developing students' ability to engage in experimental physics research. The "procedural and conceptual knowledge (PACKS)…

For the past decade, the College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley has iteratively redesigned general chemistry laboratory courses to introduce students to green chemistry concepts, while simultaneously using green chemistry as a relevant context to learn chemistry. To investigate the effectiveness of this curriculum we developed approaches to…

Previous research has shown that in prehigher education stages, inquiry-based teaching is not sufficient for forming a mature understanding of the nature of science (NOS). However, there is relatively little research conducted on colleges. Inquiry-based teaching should not overlook cognitive frameworks, as students' limited scientific reasoning…

To be able to design a laboratory course it is important to know what laboratory skills students possess before the course starts. This way the course can focus on developing skills in areas that are lacking. Despite the extensive literature on laboratory education, there are few studies on what laboratory skills students have at this stage of…

Practicing chemists use models, diagrams, symbols, and figures to represent phenomena which cannot be detected by the human senses. Although research suggests that these external representations (ERs) can also be used to address the challenges that students have in learning chemistry, it is not clear how instructors' use of ERs aligns with their…

The limited capabilities of teaching laboratories, combined with an increasing number of students enrolled in university, require constant augmentation of instructional approaches. By enhancing laboratory demonstrations with digital technology, these structural issues can be addressed while at the same time enhancing student understanding and…

Written examinations for laboratory courses fall short in testing students' technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and execution of experimental design. This has led to practical examinations growing in popularity, but examples for senior-level students remain scarce. Senior organic chemistry students are gearing toward independence to…

Human ageing and age-associated diseases are among the greatest challenges and financial burdens faced by developed countries. Unfortunately, undergraduate students often do not experience any laboratory training in ageing research in the current laboratory curriculum of majors in biology, biotechnology, or medicine. In this study, we developed…

This article describes the implementation of a student-generated open educational resource project into a majors' organic chemistry laboratory. This scaffolded semester-long project was organized into six phases and designed to promote the goals of teaching students about both green chemistry and real-life applications of the reactions covered in…

Integrating new synthetic methods and experimental techniques from the latest research reports into undergraduate laboratory experiments is of great significance, as it enables students to learn the cutting-edge technology of organic chemistry and cultivates their experimental skills and innovative thinking. In this study, an experiment on their…

Proposing scientific descriptions is critical for individuals to cope with daily problems and acquire essential information. Nonetheless, few classes have enhanced students' ability to describe facts of scientific phenomena. Thus, using a tool of technology-based laboratory, this research examined whether students' scientific descriptions and…

Academic programs generally work to make their laboratory curriculum both as instrumentation rich and up to date as possible. However, little is known about the relationship between the use of instrumentation in the curriculum and student learning. As part of our department's ongoing assessment efforts, a project was designed to probe this…